In the run-up to hunting's big traditional Boxing Day show piece, anti hunt protesters from Manchester and Liverpool witnessed first hand the reality of post ban hunting at a meet of the Holcombe Harriers this Saturday 21st December. The hunt, who traditionally mostly hunt hares, met at Brindle at noon, just off the junction of the M61 and M65. The hunt saboteurs followed closely for two hours both on foot and from the road. At around 2pm hounds from the pack got on to the scent of a hare, chased and killed it. The protesters, whilst close to the kill, were too far away to have time to intervene to save the poor animal.

The traditional hunt apologist line that hunted animals are killed swiftly by a quick nip to the neck was, as always, proved a complete lie as the hare was seized by two hounds and torn open. Footage and images from the day were taken and the crime reported to Lancashire Police.

The hunt last year was involved in controversy when at their Boxing Day meet at Rivington, a horse knocked down a 64 year old woman and trod on her head just before they were due to set off.

A spokesperson for the Manchester protesters said: 'We see again and again while out following hunts that they regularly ignore the law. Here the Holcombe Harriers were making a feeble attempt to stay within the law by hunting a nominal trail. The reality is the complete lack of control the huntsman exerts over his pack makes this redundant. We will continue to follow this hunt and others, filming their illegal activities and, when necessary, intervening to save the hunted animal. We urge Lancashire Police to take a long hard look at what happened on Saturday and at the activities of this hunt generally. If the hunt cannot or will not properly follow a trail, maybe it's time they disbanded completely.'

The Hunt Saboteurs Association is proud to proclaim its role in bringing the hated badger cull to an early finish. This can never feel like a victory as far to many innocent animals have been murdered but it is a great testament to a wide variety of groups who have worked tirelessly together that we have, for now, beaten the Government and the NFU.

Hunt sabs have been out in both zones since the cull began using non-violent direct action to save animals lives. They have been incredibly effective and are a significant part of the reason why the cull was such a total failure. The Government have moved the goalposts so many times that we have ended up playing an entirely different game but whatever they have thrown at us – cage trapping, oppressive policing and illegal extensions we have taken in our stride and defeated. The Hunt Saboteurs Association has more than doubled its membership since the culls began and we have had a huge upsurge of interest in those wishing to join our local groups.

This is not the end but it is a significant blow to Owen Patterson's hopes of a nationwide badger massacre. We have shown that we will never give up and if they continue with this morally abhorrent policy we will come back even stronger and beat them again.

Lee Moon spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs Association stated: “It has been truly inspirational to see hunt saboteurs work so closely with others, from all walks of life, to fight this hideous cull. The support and respect we receive from all those we work with has been amazing and the increased support means the organisation is stronger than it has been for years. Now the cull is temporarily over we look forward to turning our attention back to our traditional target of hunting with hounds and, with our increased levels of support, making the hunters lives a misery for the rest of the season.”

Libby Gilbert ex-Master and huntsman of the Royal Agricultural College Beagles, has evaded a Hunting Act charge by fleeing to America. Charges against the 21 year old were dropped following her second failure to attend Swindon Magistrates Court on 12th November.

Hunt saboteurs have attended several meets of Gilbert's pack in recent years and have stopped them illegally hunting on evey occasion.

HSA Press Officer Lee Moon explained, "While the courts fail our wildlife, hunt saboteurs on the ground have had a great start to this season's campaign against hare hunting. Already we have caused the cancellation of Eton College's hunters training day, monitored the Alston Hare Hunting Week and disrupted meets of the Palmer Marlborough, Old Berkeley, North Warwickshire Beagles and the Four Shires Bassets."

The HSA will continue to prioritise hare hunts this season.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

(1) Beagling is the practice of hunting the brown hare with a pack of beagles. The hounds are followed on foot by hunt supporters.

(2) There are 68 beagle packs operating in Britain today.

(3) Since the hunting ban beagle packs have become extremely secretive about their activities. The HSA believes illegal hunting of hares is widespread amongst beagle packs.

The Hunt Saboteurs Association yesterday intensified its campaign against hare hunting by attending a mid-week meet of the Bucks- based Old Berkeley Beagles.

The hunt met at Leverets Farm near the village of Marsh Gibbon. On arrival, hunt sabs armed with video cameras followed the hunt into fields.

Under such close observation they made no attempt to hunt and returned to the farm in less than an hour.

HSA Press Officer Lee Moon,who was present on the day, explained: "All hunts meet on at least one week day in addition to the Saturday. These secretive mid-week hunts are attended by only the most trusted supporters and,with the countryside at its quietest, provide an ideal opportunity for illegal hunting. Mid-week hunts such as this will therefore be a priority for us this coming season."

Hunt Saboteurs from across northern England have travelled the length of the country to protect badgers in the recently-extended Somerset cull. Northern hunt saboteurs were in the final stages of planning disruption of a major hare hunting festival- the Alston Hare Week-when news of the cull extension came through.

HSA spokesperson Lee Moon explained, "Following the terrible news that the Government was to extend the badger cull,our activists felt duty-bound to support their colleagues in the south,many of whom have been fighting the cull every night since it began."The HSA instead passed its intelligence relating to Alston Hare Week to a number of other anti-hunt organisations, and it is believed that Investigators from one of these undertook a surveillance operation during the event.

ENDSNotes to Editors

1. The Somerset Badger Cull was extended on October 11th for a further three weeks.